Covert rooftop vent enclosure and adjustable multi-tiered rack for electronic surveillance equipment

ABSTRACT

An apparatus for supporting electronic equipment on the exterior of an outdoor structure includes a base member configured to be coupled to the exterior of the outdoor structure, a first housing coupled to the base member, and at least one shelf disposed within the first housing. Each shelf includes a support surface, a plurality of support orifices disposed therethrough, and at least one first communication orifice disposed therethrough. A plurality of support members is configured to be inserted through the support orifices. A floor member is coupled to the first housing and has at least one second communication orifice disposed therethrough. The plurality of support members is configured to couple the at least one shelf to the floor member. A substantially transparent second housing is mounted on the floor member.

PRIORITY CLAIM

This application is a continuation of U.S. application Ser. No.15/144,726 filed May 2, 2016; which claims priority from U.S. patentapplication Ser. No. 13/553,577 filed Jul. 19, 2012, which claimspriority from U.S. Provisional Application No. 61/509,117 filed Jul. 19,2011. These applications are hereby incorporated by reference in theirentireties as if fully set forth herein.

COPYRIGHT NOTICE

This disclosure is protected under United States and/or InternationalCopyright Laws. © 2019 Scott Davis. All Rights Reserved. A portion ofthe disclosure of this patent document contains material which issubject to copyright protection. The copyright owner has no objection tothe facsimile reproduction by anyone of the patent document or thepatent disclosure, as it appears in the Patent and/or Trademark Officepatent file or records, but otherwise reserves all copyright rightswhatsoever.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

There is a continuing need in our country for covert surveillance toprotect our citizens from terrorists, as well as other predatorial,criminal or mischievous activity.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWING

The above and further advantages of the invention may be betterunderstood by referring to the following description taken inconjunction with the accompanying drawing, in which:

FIG. 1 is a side perspective view of an illustrative embodiment of arooftop vent enclosure in accordance with the invention;

FIG. 2 is an exploded view of elements of the enclosure of FIG. 1;

FIG. 3 is a top view of a shelf of the enclosure of FIG. 1;

FIG. 4 is a side view of an enclosure in accordance with an illustrativeembodiment of the invention;

FIG. 5 is a top perspective view of a rack for supporting electronicequipment within an interior of a vehicle in accordance with anillustrative embodiment of the invention;

FIG. 6 is a top view of a shelf of the rack of FIG. 5 in accordance withan illustrative embodiment of the invention; and

FIG. 7 is illustrates signage in accordance with an illustrativeembodiment of the invention.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT

In alternative embodiments of the invention, a covert rooftop ventenclosure is disguised as a common structure, such as a transformer, anindustrial metal chimney, air conditioning unit, or other structurefound on the top of a building.

Specifically, and referring to FIG. 1, an exemplary rooftop ventenclosure 10 for supporting electronic equipment, such as a surveillancecamera and associate equipment (not shown), on the exterior of anoutdoor structure, such as a rooftop (not shown) is illustrated.Enclosure 10 includes a base member 20, configured to be coupled to theexterior of the outdoor structure, and a housing 30 coupled to the basemember. In various embodiments, housing 30 is opaque or translucent,such that any equipment positioned therein cannot be clearly seen by thenaked eye.

At least one shelf 40 is disposed within the housing 30. As best seen inFIG. 3, in an embodiment, each shelf 40 has a support surface 50, aplurality of support orifices 60 disposed therethrough, andcommunication orifices 70 disposed therethrough. Referring back to FIG.1, enclosure 10 further includes a plurality of support members, such asrods 80, configured to be inserted through the support orifices 60.

As best seen in FIG. 2, a floor member 90 is coupled to the housing 30.Floor member 90 may be a single piece or, as illustrated in FIG. 2,constructed from multiple pieces. Floor member 90 has at least onecommunication orifice 100 disposed therethrough. The rods 80 areconfigured to couple the shelves 40 to the floor member 90. Asubstantially transparent housing 110 is mounted on the floor member 90.Housing 110 may be composed of a clear or smoked acrylic, for example. Alid 120 is configured for mounting on the housing 110 and includesventing orifices 130 disposed therethrough. A canopy member 140 ismounted on the lid 120.

In operation of enclosure 10, a surveillance camera, or lens of such acamera (not shown), may be placed in housing 110 for discreetsurveillance of the vicinity of the enclosure. Shelves 40 may be used tosupport equipment (not shown) associated with the surveillance camera.Wiring or other connective elements may be threaded throughcommunication orifices 70, 100 to allow communication among surveillanceequipment elements positioned in housing 110 and on shelves 40. In anembodiment, housing 110 may be covered with wire meshing (not shown) tobetter conceal the surveillance equipment disposed therein.

Alternatively, an embodiment can be disguised as every day, ordinarythings one would see on a building or in the city, repurposed to holdsurveillance equipment. These things, include, but are not limited to,cable boxes, utility boxes, mailboxes, electrical boxes, such as thosefound on street corners for traffic signals, and the like.

Specifically, and referring to FIG. 4, a waterproof enclosure 400,having the appearance of a utility box, for example, includes a housing410 having a surface 420. As indicated by the dashed circle, the surface420 includes an optical orifice 430 disposed therethrough. Asubstantially transparent lens 440 is disposed within the opticalorifice 430. Lens 440 may be clear or smoked, for example. A film 450 isdisposed on the surface 420 and covers the optical orifice 430. The film450 is at least partially transparent and can include a graphic designto camouflage the optical orifice 430. The film 450 may be constructedfrom, for example, perforated vinyl, cut vinyl, or other appropriatetransparent material.

The enclosure 400 may further include a base member 460 configured to becoupled to the housing 410 and the exterior of an outdoor structure (notshown). In an embodiment, base member 460 may include aluminum mountingbrackets.

In operation of enclosure 400, a surveillance camera, or lens of such acamera (not shown), may be placed in housing 410 for discreetsurveillance, via lens 440, of the vicinity of the enclosure.

Alternatively, an embodiment fits into the interior of a vehicle,anchored to a door, window or other appropriate structure. Such anembodiment is configured to easily install in a variety of differentvehicles. It may be constructed of strong, lightweight aluminum plateand rod. It may include an infinitely adjustable tensioning system tohold itself and mounted equipment in place and fit a wide variety ofvehicle windows and/or doors. In one embodiment, an optional blackfinish helps the unit to be less visible and blend into surroundings. Itmay include a unique component design that incorporates multipleshelves, can be portable and lightweight and require no tools forinstallation.

Specifically, and referring to FIGS. 5 and 6, a rack 500 for supportingelectronic equipment within an interior of a vehicle (not shown)includes a plurality of shelves 510. Each shelf 510 includes a supportsurface 520, a plurality of support orifices 530 disposed therethrough,and at least one communication orifice 540 disposed therethrough.

Each shelf 510 has a primary flexible flange member 550 coupled to arespective support surface 520 and configured to be adjustably angled byhand relative to the support surface. Each primary flange member 550 isconfigured to engage a surface, such as, for example, a window or door,of the interior of the vehicle.

Rack 500 further includes a plurality (in the example illustrated inFIG. 5, three) of support members 560, such as dowels or rods,configured to be inserted through the support orifices 530 and coupleeach shelf 510 to at least one other of the shelves. A plurality ofsecondary flexible flange members 570 are disposed proximal to thesupport orifices 530 and have an orifice 580 therethrough, which may bethreaded. Orifices 580 are configured to receive a screw or other deviceappropriate to secure members 570 and, consequently, shelves 510 tosupport members 560.

In operation of rack 500, a surveillance camera, or lens of such acamera (not shown), may be placed on one or more of shelves 510 fordiscreet surveillance of the vicinity of the vehicle in which the rackis disposed. Shelves 510 may be used to support equipment (not shown)associated with the surveillance camera. Wiring or other connectiveelements may be threaded through communication orifices 540 to allowcommunication among surveillance equipment elements positioned ondifferent ones of shelves 510.

As illustrated in FIG. 7, yet another aspect of an embodiment of theinvention includes signage 700 including misleading graphics 710designed to disguise, for example, a vehicle in which rack 500 issituated, so that when an officer is installing the surveillanceequipment, their vehicle does not look suspicious. These signs affix tothe sides of vehicles and, in one embodiment of the invention, include,but are not limited to, being attached easily by strong magnets.

While the preferred embodiment of the invention has been illustrated anddescribed, as noted above, many changes can be made without departingfrom the spirit and scope of the invention. Accordingly, the scope ofthe invention is not limited by the disclosure of the preferredembodiment.

What is claimed is:
 1. A system for supporting electronic equipmentwithin an interior of a vehicle, comprising: a plurality of shelves,each said shelf having a support surface, each said shelf having aplurality of support orifices disposed therethrough, each said shelfhaving at least one communication orifice disposed therethrough, eachsaid shelf having a primary flexible flange member configured to bemanually adjustably angled relative to the support surface, each saidprimary flange member further configured to engage a surface of theinterior of the vehicle; and a plurality of support members configuredto be inserted through the support orifices and couple each shelf to atleast one other of the shelves.
 2. The system of claim 1, wherein eachsaid primary flange member is configured to engage a window of thevehicle.
 3. The system of claim 1, further comprising a plurality ofsecondary flexible flange members disposed proximal to the supportorifices, each said secondary flange member having an orificetherethrough.
 4. The system of claim 3, wherein said orifice isthreaded.
 5. The system of claim 1, wherein the support members andshelves are black.
 6. An apparatus for supporting electronic equipmenton the exterior of an outdoor structure, comprising: a base memberconfigured to be coupled to the exterior of the outdoor structure; afirst housing coupled to the base member; at least one shelf disposedwithin the first housing, each said shelf having a support surface, eachsaid shelf having a plurality of support orifices disposed therethrough,each said shelf having at least one first communication orifice disposedtherethrough; a plurality of support members configured to be insertedthrough the support orifices; a floor member coupled to the firsthousing and having at least one second communication orifice disposedtherethrough, the plurality of support members configured to couple theat least one shelf to the floor member; and a substantially transparentsecond housing mounted on the floor member.
 7. The apparatus of claim 6,further comprising a lid member configured for mounting on the secondhousing, the lid member including venting orifices disposedtherethrough.
 8. The apparatus of claim 7, further comprising a canopymember configured for mounting on the lid member.
 9. An apparatus forsupporting electronic equipment on the exterior of an outdoor structure,comprising: a housing having a first surface, the first surfaceincluding an optical orifice disposed therethrough; a substantiallytransparent lens disposed within the optical orifice; and a film memberdisposed on the first surface and covering the optical orifice, the filmmember being at least partially transparent, the film member including agraphic design configured to camouflage the optical orifice.
 10. Theapparatus of claim 9, further comprising a base member configured to becoupled to the housing and the exterior of the outdoor structure. 11.The apparatus of claim 9, wherein the film member comprises perforatedvinyl.
 12. The system of claim 1, further comprising a film memberconfigured to adhere to an exterior surface of the vehicle, the filmmember including a graphic design configured to disguise the vehicle.